>> breaking news from prince george's county. right now, firefighters battling a very tragic fire. is happening in glenarden. cpr is being performed on four people. john gonzalez is at the scene. a live report in a moment. >> explosive details in a murder

case against olympia oscar pistorius. the lead investigator in the case is facing legal troubles. >> the white house releasing the first lady's official portraits for the president's second term, different from reversed and 2009. "good morning washington" at 5:00 a.m. begins now. >> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> good morning, washington. time to wake up and get the day started. thursday, february 21. i am cynne simpson. >> i am scott thuman. led data meteorologist jacqui jeras to talk about what we are in store for. >> : is what we are in store for -- cold is what we are in store for. we have clouds lingering right now. it will not last long. the skies will be generally clear with a lot of sunshine. the temperature is almost irrelevant, but we are in the

low to mid-20s across the region. 26 at reagan national. wind chills factory at 18. that's dropping into the single digits. another day of school ahead. 28 degrees for pick up time with partly cloudy skies, mostly clear at recess, 38 degrees. 42 degrees at the drop off but it will still feel like the 30's through the afternoon. bundle up the expense today. patapsco wintry mix tomorrow. we will spell out the details in a few minutes. from the belfort furniture weather center for a check on traffic. jamee? get the gloves on. interstate 905, lanes are open out of stafford to head up towards dale city over the occoquan towards the beltway nice and quiet. hov lanes are up and running. -- interstate 9055, 0 and tier

the beltway lanes are open through tysons and bethesda and silver spring and landover. no problems. 270 is quiet southbound leaving the frederick. to the beltway. back to you. >> thank you. we want to get to a live report on the breaking news we have been falling throughout the morning. a fire already being called tragic. >> john gonzalez is at the scene with what sounds like a terrible situation. >> [no audio] this is a terrible situation in the glenarden area of maryland's this morning. you can see the amount of activity going on right now. [no audio]

>> rehabing difficulty. all we know is cpr is being performed on four people pulled from the home. that being conducted right now. firefighters used the words "very tragic." >> this is a picture we received a short time ago. use of john gonzalez on the scene. we will work on that. >> press tour does county police looking into our re-year-old boy was hit by a car and killed. >> this happened wednesday night at an apartment complex on audrey lane in oxon hill. investigators say the boy and his grandmother were inside a car when suddenly it rolled backwards. it's not clear whether -- where the two were sitting inside a car. the boy's father was outside the car holding his two year-old daughter. when he saw what was happening, he dropped his daughter, tried to stop the car, and that's when

the little boy fell out of the car. he was hit and killed. we're told the boy's father suffered minor injuries as well as the daughter after he dropped her in the effort to stop the car. police are investigating. they are trying to see if the car might have been left in gear. looking around montgomery county, police said issued a public safety alert. girls were approached by strangers on a two different occasions. last friday a man approached a group of girls playing on ross rd. and made inappropriate comments. and on tuesday a man drove up to somea girl an friendship heights, asked her name, then she ran away. a house panel will hold a meeting of the impact of sequestration. >> we will get a better idea how it could impact workers especially

in the d.c. area. brianne carter has more from capitol hill. >> day lawmakers will meet to discuss the impact of sequestration on middle-class families and small businesses. in arlington, this bar owner knows the effect across the board of government cuts would have on his customers. >> they won't be coming into town or they will be a little bit more frugal. >> defense secretary leon panetta said on wednesday the vast majority of the defense department's 8000 civilian workers will be furloughed f one day a beor up to -- for up to 22 weeks in the white house and congress cannot reach a deal. this man says it will have a major impact on tourism and travel in our region. if your salary is cut, you will not travel. >> back to the breaking news with john gonzalez. it's he's on the scene. what is happening where you are? >> [no audio]

just a terrible situation here in glenarden, maryland at this hour. 30 firefighters have been out here battling this house fire. you can see the. amount of damage we are told six people were pulled out of the home. four them in very critical condition. they werereceived cpr before they were transported to the hospital. four of the people removed or children. three of them in critical condition. one adult also in very bad shape at this hour. again, a lot of activity. the fire department is here as well as the police department trying to keep traffic away from the area. we can tell you a bad we witnessed two people pulled out of the home, an adult and child. they seemed to be ok, not

suffering from severe injuries or severe problems. now we are being sold by the fire chief in prince george's county that six people were pulled out of the home, four of them in very critical condition. reporting live, john gonzalez, abc 7 news. >> we will check back in very soon. meanwhile, following a developing story from south africa. closing arguments could get underway today in a bail hearing for double amputee olympia oscar pistorius. prosecution's case against him may be falling apart because of police errors and an admission. investigators have no evidence to refute his claim the accidentally shot and killed reeva steenkamp. on. in an added twist, the lead detective faces attempted murder charges in connection with a 2011 shooting. prosecutors say an oscar pistorius murdered reeva steenkamp after she hid in a bathroom after a fight.

it's off to a chilly start, 25 degrees. search for clues into what led to a deadly plane crashed in

captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> good morning, washington. i am meteorologist jacqui jeras.

5:11 is the time. the wind chill is only 18 degrees. another cold february day. it feels like winter around here for a change. meteorologist adam caskey joining us with more details on today's forecast and the windy conditions. >> i think it's kind of refreshing outside. it's good february whether. -- weather. when spring rolls around, we will appreciate it even more. we are at the gallows road where there's a temperature of 23 degrees at the storm chaser. you will feel the chill in the air. the wind chill is dropping into the teens. the wind will be blowing today. speaking of the wind, i have a great picture from my facebook friend, her cute little daughter monroe, playing with a pinwheel. thanks for the lovely poteau

from facebook yesterday. when you factor in the wind, it feels like we are down in the teens. a wind chill of 11 now in hagerstown and frederick. it feels like 14 in manassas. we will have been throughout the day, with sunshine. highs around 40 degrees this afternoon. tomorrow afternoon we will run into a little sleet changing over to rein in the second half of the day tomorrow and into the weekend some areas of rain on saturday. now let's go to jamee for the commute. >> my car did not even more up this morning. granted, i have a short commute. it's quiets from the traffic center. four corners in silver spring, no troubles to get to the capital beltway. university boulevard, colesville road, college park, trouble lanes are open. out of maryland and virginia, crossing the american legion

bridge, a good start. 66 in gainesville and pushing through to the beltway, that looks good. south of 66, 234 near crestwood drive, an accident has just been reported. >> 24 degrees outside. >> we will show you a photograph of actress sarah jessica parker that is tearing up some controversy. >> role on over to a computer

>> authorities say five people were killed and two others injured when a small plane crashed near the end of runway at an airport in eastern georgia. the aircraft had just arrived from asheville. the faa says the plane was registered to a delaware company. no word on what may have caused the crash. the obama administration is considering urging the supreme court to overturn california's on demerit. the administration has one week to file a court brief outlining its opinion on the california band. move could have a far reaching impact on same-sex couples all across the country. it is a big day for anyone wanting to attend this year's white house easter egg roll. the ticket lottery for the annual event starts at 10:00 this morning and is open until

10:00 a.m. on monday. tickets are free for the april 1 event which will also include music and storytelling. lottery winners will be notified on march 1. we have a link to the lottery website our website, wjla.com. the white house has just released mrs. obama's official white house portrait. it's a photograph was shot by chuck kennedy, a first lady sitting in a dark green chair with 3 1/4 glance leaves wearing pearls and bangs. in 2009 she stood in the white house blue room in a sleeveless black dress which showcased her famous arms. some readers are not so in love with this chinese edition of harper's bazaar magazine. sarah jessica parker graces the cover. some fans are calling the image creeping photoshoped. some say she looks like an alien. no comment from her or the

magazine. her>> her eyes don't look quite her eyes. >> is that what it is? " maybe it promedic>> maybe it is the makeup. >> the weather is not beautiful this morning. >> it's beautiful. >> it is not. >> yes, it is. at least it will look beautiful when the sun is up. it is chilly outside. its winter it's february. this is what it should feel like. we will appreciate spring so much more as a result. just imagine sunshine. remember the snow in tucson, arizona. 26 degrees with the wind chill

of 18 degrees for us at this hour. we have a little cloudiness. 21 degrees in gaithersburg, 24 in martinsburg 23 in winchester. the wind chill factors in the teens. a few of us in the single digits. it feels like 18 degrees in culpeper, 15 in manassas and at dulles. yesterday the high temperature was 41, well below average. we were cooler than normal. that will be the case once again today. r snowfall tally for the season remains at 1.5 inches. snow drought of more than 11 inches. i don't think we will add to that this week. maybe a little sleet. showing you a little cloudiness this morning on the satellite and radar. high pressure will clear us out. plenty of sunshine this afternoon. this storm system across the plains states today bringing more than 1 foot of snow to kansas and nebraska. the university of nebraska at lincoln has canceled classes for

today. more than 20 states have advisories or warnings because of the winter storm. it is headed our way but we will have a minimal impact. the clouds will start late tonight. tomorrow we will get some moisture, but it will be light. sleet or a little wintry mix. maybe just a rain in d.c. expected mostly sunny skies today, high temperature between 40 and 45. how is traffic, jamee? >> it quiet from the traffic center. in virginia to falls church, arlington, 66 lanes are open. there's a crash on 234 sudley road, south of 66.

it's a little winded. on 95, lanes are open. quiet in maryland in germantown down to the capital beltway and across the wilson bridge looks good. back to you. >> thank you. sony talks about its new game consoles but does not show it. >> you can enter a contest for the right to pay $1,500 for a pair of googl glasse rob nelson. has more. >> only reveals the playstation 4, sort of. the company talked about the next gaming unit but never showed the council. it did show what it can do. the most important changes so much of the system will be cloud-based. >> it's just like streaming movies on netflix. in a couple years we will look back on plastic disks being very archaic. >> the new playstation will go on sale in time for the holidays. the iphone 5 and the iphone 4s

were the two best selling smartphones in the fourth quarter. global is running a contest for a chance to buy a pair of internet-connected glasses. you must live in the u.s. to enter and tell what you would do with them. even if you win, they will still cost $1,500.

>> la combat. we want to get to even more breaking news we are following. >> this is another fire happening in rockville. jummy olabanji has details. >> we just got some new information and a picture from the assistant fire chief scott graham. you see all the mass of flames coming from the area. the fire is at 176 watts branch

parkway at karma academy, a residential home for boys. prior crews on the scene say that they don't believe there are any injuries, but they are not sure of the building was being occupied. they are working right now to knock down this two alarm fire happening just before 5:00 this morning. we have a crew headed to the scene in rockville pike. we are waiting for confirmation from the assistant chief. as soon as we get that, we will have an update for you. back to you. >> thank you. 5:27 25 degrees. the news continues at 5:30. still ahead, a live report from the scene of another house fire. this is a live picture from glenarden, maryland. you can see the firefighters started work looking for hot spots. they're

>> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> straight ahead, we have breaking news out of glenarden maryland. firefighters have had to rescue several people from a house fire. we have a live report from the scene coming up. good morning, washington. it's thursday, february 21. i am scott thuman. >> i am cynne simpson. off to a busy start. following two fighters. meteorologist jacqui jeras. i cannot help but wonder if the cold temperatures might be contributing to some of these problems. >> i was thinking the same thing. we have had quite a few in the last couple weeks as temperatures have been colder. always check the furnace and be careful with space heaters

because they can cause fires. it's a bitter cold start this morning. we have a little cloudiness this morning, but we will have ample sunshine today. the wind chill factor at, feels like 18 ntc, 15 at dulles, a degrees in gaithersburg at this hour. -- it feels like 18 degrees in d.c. today it will feel like the 30's throughout much of the day because of the wind. not as strong as yesterday but cooler than we have been lately. there's a potential wintry mix for tomorrow. details on that in the seven-day forecast. first let's a check on traffic and weather jamee. >> everything on the rail system off to a quiet start. we like that. no delays. crossing the 14th street bridge, out of virginia into the nation's capital, looking good. quiet is across the anacostia.

the beltway is open. the beltway in maryland, no troubles in glenmont. 270 looks good for everyone between frederick hess and the beltway. not much to tell you about in the traffic center. back to you. >> thank you. back to the breaking news, especially the first one. the fire on kyle lesley avenue in glenarden. >>-- on lesley avenue. >> john gonzalez is on the scene. >> the firefighters are making sure they have knocked down all the hot spots inside the home. investigation has started to find out exactly what happened here. we have been told six people were taken out of the home. four of them being children. they are in very critical condition at this hour. we have the fire chief to fill us in on what happened.

what time did this happen? >> the earth 911 calls came in at 4:02. within five minutes the fire department was here. a single-family home. they determined there were six people in the house. it pulled out the six people. fourthree children and one adult. two have been transported from the scene. one of our people that fell on the ice has been transported away. that's where we are now. >> any indication where and how the fire started? >> too early. there just are in the investigation. it will be a long day. as soon as we have more reformation, we will let you know. >> thanks very much. again, six people pulled out of

the home, four of them in very critical condition four children. john gonzalez reporting for abc 7 news. >> if that were not enough, there's a two alarm fire in montgomery county that broke out 45 minutes ago at karma academy in rockville, a residential treatment facility for boys. we don't have any reports of injuries, but we have a crew on the way to the scene. we will get more details and a live report as we have that available. >> a longtime d.c. area swim coach is scheduled to plead guilty to child sex abuse charges. rick curl is expected to ensure that police during a hearing in montgomery county today. he was charged last fall after former student, told authorities he abused her for several years in the 1980's. his former students include

world record breakers and olympic gold medalists. he faces up to 15 years. fairfax county investigators say the man suspected of killing a pregnant woman whose body was found in a burn down to rest an apartment his debt. police say the suspect, whose name is not been released, was found dead in texas on tuesday. authorities believe he committed suicide. a neighbor said she heard the two are doing on monday just hours before the fire started. >> a house panel will hold a hearing today on the impact of sequestration. >> this comes as we get a better idea on just how severe the impact would be on workers' especially in our area. we go to brianne carter on capitol hill with what we are facing. >> as you know, this has become a topic that has been very big on capitol hill over the past couple weeks. not just with lawmakers but with people visiting the area. with the deadline drawing even closer. later today there will be a

house committee that will hold a hearing to discuss the impact sequestration could have not only on middle-class families bought on small businesses as well. it will be lawmakers and a number of people that will be part of the panel including teachers everyday people that could be impacted by this. 800,000 civilian workers with the department of defense could be impacted by this. they could be furloughed one day a week for a still 22 weeks of congress and the white house cannot come to a deal. -- for up to 22 weeks. there could be a big impact on travel. if people don't have the money they will not be able to travel here. we could see an impact on restaurants and this is a big tourism area. that could have a major impact. the house panel committee meeting will get under way around 2:00 this afternoon. brianne carter, abc 7 news.

>> it's 5:37, 25 degrees. >> by lance armstrong could be out of chances when it comes t

>> greetings from the catalog for philanthropy at the great beginnings. for more information on other nonprofits teacher in the

catalog, checkout our website. >> good morning, washington. >> 5:41 is the time. i know it's early, but it's going to be a beautiful day, but a cold day ahead. the wind is strong enough that we have a cold wind chill. adam caskey is with storm chasers 7. another hat. i like this one. >> my mom made this one as well. "i just like to take care of my boy." a minnesota mom. it's cold and windy in merrifield. i want to share great photograph from one of my new facebook friends, jon in manchester.

he cocked his great photo of the sunrise a couple mornings ago. that's beautiful. the sky is on fire with the orange and red colors. we will have a good amount of sunshine. temperatures in the widespread 20's. low 20s in many locations. you factor in the wind and it feels like we are in the teens. if you need a a jacket. bundle up this morning with a hat and gloves. highs today will be near 40 degrees with a good amount of sunshine. the wind will subside by later on tonight, but it will be a breezy day. sleet tomorrow afternoon. now, jamee with traffic. >> a nice start for the most part. in virginia, 395. in shirlington and out of landmark to across the 14th street bridge, looking good. we are quiet on 66 as well. no problems around the beltway. on 270 southbound at out of the

frederick area, there's an accident near 85. so that is southbound 270, so you might encounter early delays. the beltway, looking good in maryland and virginia. 270 at 109, looks sluggish. back to you. >> thank you. 5:43, 25 degrees. >> new details on a maryland man convicted of murdering a north carolina teenager. much more ♪ we were skipping stones

and letting go ♪ [ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars rich dark chocolate, tototed oats. perfect combinations of nature's delicious ingredients from nature valley. ♪ ♪ nature valley anola bars nature at its most delicious. [ female announcer ] nature valley protein bars with simple, real ingredients, like roasted peanuts creamy peanut butter and a rich dark-chocolate flavor, plus 10 grams of protein so it's energy straight from nature to you. nature valley protein bars.

>> does your child's school have the best security? this evening, the concern that some metro area school districts feel is best for an emergency that other districts

have. tonight at 5:00. >> lance armstrong has turned down what may be his last chance at reducing its lifetime ban from sports. >> he has admitted to a career fueled by doping and deceit. he would have to tell a story to those who police sports doping. he says he will not do it. the deadline was yesterday. he says it would be to demonize selected individuals. >> please join us in a moment of silence to honor the great dr. jerry buss. >> kobe bryant and the l.a. lakers paid tribute to the late jerry buss before their game against the celtics last night. he would have enjoyed the game that followed. his lakers beat their nemesis 133-99. he died monday at the age of 80. >> under his leadership, the

lakers won 10 league titles after he took ownership in 1979. here's tim brant. >> the georgetown hoyas are playing as well as anybody in the country right now. they are racing toward a possible big east title. if that will happen, there will have to beat syracuse this weekend. they took care of business last night at verizon against depaul. a nice drop pass. the star the game was a freshman rivera. he had his first eight shots. the hoyas get their 28 pin of the year, 90-56. two inches of snow suspended play in arizona yesterday. the guys started having a snowball fights. that's a television announcer. tiger woods hopes to get on the

course today only if he gets some warm arizona sun shine. have a great day. >> coming up at 6:00 how an american tire company executive upset the french who called one of his ideas stupid. it's a first of its kind. why it was endorsed. >> and an update from glenarden on a house fire that is being called "very tragic." that's still ahead at 6:00. >> defense attorneys are seeking a new trial for baltimore man convicted of murdering a north carolina teenager. michael johnson convicted of second-degree murder in the death of phylicia barnes. she disappeared while visiting relatives in baltimore in 2010. her body was found in the susquehanna river. johnson's lawyer filed a motion tuesday for new trial. as a prosecutors improperly tried to bolster the credibility of a witness. witness testified that johnson

asked him for help disposing of the body. >> vice president joe biden will push for new gun laws near the site of the mmassacre that renewed the the gun debate. he will speak in danbury connecticut, dusty death miles away from where six adults and 20 children died in the december shooting. members of the state's congressional delegation, federal officials, and the parents of one of the victims are expected to speak during that events. a man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a chicago woman whose sister sat behind president obama as the push for gun control legislation. police believe 21-year-old jim mcpherson shot and killed the 18-year-old jenee mcfarland this weekend. her 14-year-old sister sat just feet from the president as he spoke about violence. he's behind bars on a $3 million bond. >> time to check in with jacqui jeras on the weather today.

>> the first thing we notice is its freezing outside. >> it was a slap in the face. >> refreshen. >> there you go. >> that makes us feel better about it. adam caskey is doing jumping jacks. bungalow. are-- bundle up outside. it feels like 18 degrees with wind out of the west northwest. the temperatures are in the '20s. you can see the wind chill factor down into single digits in a few spots. gator expert feels like 8 degrees, feels like 11 in hagerstown, 14 in martinsburg. yesterday we made it up to 41 but it felt like 20's all day. the average high is 48 degrees. -- it feels like 8 degrees in

gaithersburg. sleet possible tomorrow. skies will be clearing through this morning and you'll see plenty of sunshine this afternoon. a weather maker across the plains states will be a nasty storm, a bad place to travel today. heavy snow, over a foot possible in kansas and nebraska has been dealing with this since yesterday. winter storm warnings and advisers affecting more than 20 states right now. not us yet. clouds will be on the increase to night. high-pressure dominating us now. an increase tomorrow morning. we could get a little sleet or a little wintry mix mainly north and west of the metro area. we have one low up here and another down here. all the precipitation should be very light with some rain a little heavier on saturday.

today mostly sunny and breezy, high between 40 and 45 degrees feeling like a 30's through most of the day. klaus tonight, 24-28 degrees. a potential of the wintry mix on friday afternoon. rain showers on saturday. -- cloudy tonight. make some plans for a nice weekend. >> relatively quiet for the start of the starton 270 southbound at democracy boulevard. no problems. 270 near west montgomery avenue, 28, that looks good. south of 28, the parkway is shut down nearly avenue due to a building fire. travel and thorough and around the beltway. -- south of 28, the parkwaynear is closed near hurley.

>> breaking news. three people have died in the house fire in glenarden two of them being children. >> very sad news. you can see firefighters bringing some of the children out from an earlier. they conducted cpr and did all they could to resuscitate some of the victim's. unfortunately, we have learned that three people are dead. three others are getting medical attention as we speak. one firefighter as well fell on the ice out there trying to battle the fire. john gonzalez is on the scene. we will check in with him in a short while for the latest. 5:54. cereal makers want you to have breakfast on ago. >> the cdc says he were american may be speakingpigging out on fast food. linda bell explains. >> are you both filling up less

on fast food? the answer is yes. adult consumes less of their daily calories from fat foods from 2007 to 2010 compared to about timeframe prior. they said that it coincides with the leveling off of obesity rates. the fast-food industry generates $991 billion in annual sales. we lead busy lives. we don't have enough time to enjoy a bowl of cereal. how about taking it with you and drinking it? general mills and kellogg are preparing breakfast drinks as they struggle to boost sales. the ceo of kellogg's says it's the drink will be rolled out nationwide this year. general mills' breakfast shake is in test markets currently in the northeast.

linda bell reporting for abc 7 news. back to you. >> thank you. i will aftertaste that first period i

>> a judge could decide today whether a former illinois police officer accused of killing his

wife could get a new trial. drew petterson says his former attorney was incompetent. he was convicted last year of killing his third wife in 2004. he is also a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife stacy. people speak at an l.a. hotel are being told not to drink the water after a canadian woman's body was found in the water tank on top of the building. she checked into the hotel near skid row on january 26, but disappeared five days later. a great demand found her body on tuesday after get started complaining about the taste of the water. police have not said how she died. >> we're learning more about tuesday's deadly explosion that level the kansas city restaurant. hours before the blast witnesses say they smelled gas. firefighters were called to the